Smoky Mountains

I am, by no stretch of the imagination, a photographer. But I still like to take pictures because when you're deliberately taking pictures (especially for something like a blog post), you have to stop and look for the beauty. You're basically forced to enjoy God's Creation and I think that's pretty cool. So here are the pics from our trip to the Smoky Mountains a couple weeks ago.

Sunrise over the mountains

Pancakes for breakfast :)

This was outside the cabin in the picture above -
I thought it was a creative way to warn people :)

A mile is much too far for a four year old's legs.

She posed for me :D

So much snow we got an extra day of snowed in vacation!

An overlook near the cabin

What better way to get down the mountain than sliding on ice?

The pictures really don't do it justice and I'd love to go back. But for now, I can remember. :)

-Kira

When Snow Touched the Earth

I recently pulled out an old school project because my sister's doing the same one right now. It was one of my favorites at the time and I think it still is. For the class, we were in the middle of reading A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. The idea behind the project was to take two sentences that you were given and expand them into a whole story or lecture or whatever you pleased.

Dickens was payed by the word and so he used a lot of them. This "maximalist" approach is what I used in my project, which I decided to post.

As you read this, you should know a couple points of background that I had in my head as I wrote. First, these are hobbit-like creatures. They're not hobbits, but they're quite similar. Second, they live in a future dystopian America, which happens to be part of the reason they're not actually hobbits.

Enjoy!

* * *

When Snow Touched the Earth

Beebo Appleby carefully yet firmly set his boot on the tile floor of his mother’s kitchen. He sighed. Twenty seven years old and still living with his mother, searching her kitchen for bites to eat. The room was small in a cute way. Not small in a cramped way as many houses were in those days. It was unusual to invite guests over in the winter for there was no space in which even to greet them. It was this new “regulated housing” that the fascist government had so raved about. They had insisted that it would be better for all the people, eliminating jealousy and thus also thievery, murder, and other crimes of the horrific type.

Some were happy with this new housing and others (like Mr. Appleby) were quite irritated by it. Not that being unhappy did any good. The government didn’t particularly care about what the people thought. Their iron grip was strong enough to allow them to do as they pleased.

The worn work boots padded their equally worn way across the black and white tiles to the small window on the opposite wall. They were lucky to have glass. Most of their neighbors had only sealed plastic wrap over the few openings in their walls. Beebo shivered in sympathy. Working for the government sure had its perks. Like central heating. The mayor insisted that there were simply not enough resources to heat every house in the city and the suffering of the few led to the benefit of the whole society.

Beebo rolled his deep brown eyes and leaned his forehead against the cold glass. A shiver went down his spine as the temperature outside battled with that of his body. Snowflakes swirled in a graceful dance across the meadow, leaving behind a shimmery white blanket to cool the earth.

The snow reminded him of Joanna. Just yesterday they had been catching snowflakes on their tongues down by the ancient frozen river a mile yonder. Joanna had brushed a few crystals off of her nose and giggled. A rosy hue had risen to her freckled cheeks in response to the cold. She twirled in a circle, dress spinning and smiled at Beebo. “I love the snow! There’s something about it that makes it seem like all of the troubles in the whole world will go away forever under the quilt stitched every winter. Something almost magical.” Then she giggled again and collapsed into a snowbank.

The happiness and joy that had filled him at that frozen river now left him empty and depressed. He patted his jacket pocket. It was still there. The letter had been delivered just that morning. Drops of water stained the page and the tilted handwriting was a little messier than usual.

Joanna had written to tell him that they had been relocated to Arizona. She had found out as soon as she arrived at the large family’s miniscule house the previous day. They could never see each other again. The swirling snow no longer seemed to be filled with light magic but that of a darker force. Beebo tried to be happy for her. Now the whole Smugu family would be warm through the winter and her father could have a better job. Everyone knew the economy was better in Arizona than Maine.

The soft clicks of high heels sounded down the hallway, recalling Beebo to reality. His mother and Mrs. Smugu had been very good friends and now he would have to give her the upsetting news. He turned to the doorway, resolve written across his stout features.

* * *

By the way, you should defintiely go read A Tale of Two Cities! It's kind of long, but one of my absolute favorite books that I've ever been assigned for school - I would have read it without the assignment. :)

-Kira

Studying

After deciding to lock myself in my room for the next hour and a half to get some midterm studying done, I opened the curtains. That was a huge mistake since I already knew it was snowing. And peaceful snow drifting down in a soft blanket can be quite distracting when you're looking at ancient Greek plays. Sooo I took some pictures. (By the way, the falling snow is kind of hard to see because I took most of them through my bedroom window.)

I just had to add this one because it's making
my whole room smell like gingerbread. :)

All right, break over. Back to those plays ;)

-Kira

"Even the sparrow..."

There are a lot of things in this life that make me anxious or nervous. Like going to math class the first time. Or performing or speaking in front of people. Or, most recently, going to a job interview. I am a generally anxious person. I'm always thinking about what could go wrong and what will happen if said thing goes wrong and can it ever be fixed or will my life be ruined forever.

A couple years ago I found a verse that has since been my favorite.

The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. -Philippians 4:5b-7

I'm not supposed to be anxious about anything. Anything at all. That covers everything from going to the dentist to my little sister going to live with someone else. Anything.

Since I found that verse, I'm still anxious a lot. But I repeat it over and over in my head. I thought it would take away all worry if I said it enough times. That I would eventually just never be anxious about anything at all. That's not quite how it's worked so far.

Recently, I had my first ever job interview. As you can probably guess, I was nervous - which also means talking a lot. I said this verse to myself and it certainly didn't take away the nervousness. But it did do something else. I realized that even though I was still anxious about this interview, I wasn't anxious deep down. That probably doesn't make much sense, so let me explain.

It used to be that I was nervous and scared all the way to my core when something new was coming up. But now, when I remember that God has control, I'm only nervous on the surface. Because it is scary to do something new and unknown. It's uncomfortable to step outside your comfort zone. But I'm not nervous on a deeper level. Now, I don't have to dwell on that worry for the weeks leading up to the big day. I can think about other things because I know that whatever happens, God's still going to be sovereign and the world's still going to be spinning at the end of the day. And if it's not, I know where I'll be. :)

Be still and know that I am God.

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth!

The Lord of hosts is with us;

the God of Jacob is our fortress.

-Psalm 46:10-11

I can be still because God will be exalted no matter what.

In Matthew 10, Jesus talks about how we compare to sparrows in the sight of God. If He keeps track of and takes care of them, how much more will He take care of us? Some of us on the mime team (for an explanation, see the "About Me" page) have been given the assignment of creating a mime for part of our testimony. The song I chose is, coincidentally, Sparrows by Jason Gray. You should definitely listen to it, but it starts with the words:

You can't add a single day,

by worrying.

You'll worry your life away.

And the chorus adds:

Oh, even the sparrow

knows He holds tomorrow.

If even a tiny little bird can trust God to take care of him, then I have no reason to doubt that He can take care of me.

-Kira

"Then I will go to the altar of God..."

Have you ever stopped to think about how awesome (as in, awe-inspiring) prayer is? It is the way that we, as simple, ant-like human beings can speak directly to the Creator of the universe and Sustainer of all life. Any time we want.

I've been reading Psalm 43 lately in my devotions. I can't quite get past it. The verses that make me just stop and stare at my Bible over and over again are verses 3-4.

Send out your light and truth;

let them lead me;

let them bring me to your holy hill

and to your dwelling!

Then I will go to the altar of God,

to God my exceeding joy,

and I will praise you with the lyre,

O God, my God.

"Send out your light and truth." That reminds me of another verse. "Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'" (John 14:6) I read an essay for school that pointed out that there's no specific group of Pslams that are the "Messianic Psalms." All of the Psalms are Messianic. God sent out His light and truth in Jesus.

"Let them lead me." I love this part of the verse. Jesus will lead me. I can make my life His and He will take the lead.

But my favorite bit is in verse 4. "Then I will go to the altar of God." Because Jesus came and He leads me, I can pray freely to God. In the Old Testament, that wasn't okay. No regular old person could just go around talking to God all the time. But now, in the New Covenant, we're not only allowed to approach our Father, but encouraged and commanded to.

The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. (Philippians 4:5b-6)

That's what I've been thinking about lately. I just can't get over how blessed I am to be allowed to speak to God. Any time I want for whatever reason I want.

As I'm sure you know, the subject of prayer is a vast one that can be explored from many different angles, but I don't want to do that today. I just wanted to express and share my appreciation of the blessing we've been given in being allowed communication with our Maker.

-Kira

Why You Should Drop What You're Doing And Go For A Run Right This Second

My old running shoes - apparently you're not supposed to wait
until they are ripped and the tread's coming off for new ones. :D

One of the best feelings ever is taking the last step of an extremely intense run and collapsing into a stumbling walk with a grin stretched across your panting face. At least in my opinion. ;)

And I want to share that feeling, so today I thought I'd compile a list of perfectly solid reasons why everyone should start running right now. (You could also call it a list of why I love running so much.)

1. It's good for you. This one's a no brainer.
2. The end of a run always leaves you with a sense of accomplishment, if you let it. This morning, I really struggled to get up out of bed. I knew it was snowing. I knew it was cold. I knew it was dark. And I did not. Want. To. Run. But I made myself get up anyway and at the end, I couldn't stop smiling because I made myself do it.
3. You get to have all those cool running things. Shoes, shorts, socks, apps, you name it! Plus, they make great rewards for meeting goals...
4. You can slow down and take things in. Before anyone else gets up in the morning, the world is quiet and beautiful. Last Saturday, I got to see hot pink clouds dye the world a lighter pink as the sun rose. And the snowflakes dancing down in the dark this morning. It's a great time to pray and clear your head.
5. Quality time with your dog - or brother. Our dog is old and fat now so...
6. Your head is clear for the rest of the day. This one is not a complete guarantee but I have noticed that when I run, the rest of my day goes so much better. It's now one of the things I say to myself when my bed is warm and the alarm's going off: "You know your whole day is better when you run. So get up!"
7. Instant hobby. Really, this one's pretty self explainatory too. It's something to do that's good for you.
8. Time alone. I know this contradicts number 5, but every run's different. Sometimes, I go for an extra if something's driving me crazy. When you come back tired, it tends to be a lot harder to be upset.
9. Great ideas magically appear. I get all sorts of new ideas for writing, cooking, school, anything, when I run. And it's totally random most of the time. I'll be thinking about how I wish more people left their Christmas lights on early in the morning, and then I have a new way to do something.
10. Time for podcasts! I have a few podcasts I love to listen to and I don't really have a lot of time to do that at home. But I can download them and listen to them while I run. Entertainment during painful stretches and finishing up those podcasts you wanted to hear.
11. Food. After a long run, you can seriously eat all day and still be hungry. Which means you can make cookies and still want to eat some after licking the bowl. I mean, ahem, eat apples and carrots and protein all day...not. ;)

There you go. Eleven whole reasons why you should go pull on your shoes and get out the door. Convinced?

-Kira

Mask

Are we happy plastic people?

Under shiny plastic steeples?

With walls around our weakness?

And smiles that hide our pain...

I've worn a smile that hides my pain more than I care to admit. And the walls around my weakness? Yep, been there. The mask of plastic? Worn it.

Casting Crowns' Stained Glass Masquerade does quite a good job of capturing just what it is to hide your true self behind a mask.

And I don't mean that stuff about who you really are in a Disney way. I mean it in a Christian way. Even though I had the head knowledge that I could exchange man's judgement for God's, I didn't believe it until this past summer.

"Yeah, okay, I'm being who God wants me to be. I don't worry about what other people think about me because I don't have to."

Right. That's what I told people. "It's all under control."

But that's part of the mask. It's not all under control. At any given point in time, something's not going to be perfect, but why does anyone else need to know that? I just kept it inside. As I smiled and said I was doing splendidly, my inside voice whisper-screamed, "No! I'm not okay! I can't do this any more!"

That's one I thought over and over again. "I can't do this any more!" Meaning school, friends, church, family. It's exhausting to be acting constantly. But guess who I told? No one. Because what if they judged me? What if they had it all together and I would just look bad if I told them I didn't?

It turns out, no one has it all together. And it also turns out that a lot of other people don't want to share their problems either. That's what I learned this summer. Written like that, it looks pretty depressing. But when you add the third thing I learned, it sounds a little more comforting.

Everything is better when you share your life with other people.

They can pray for you, they can hold you accountable, they can comfort you. The people around you are struggling too. And they want to help.

I refused to realize that completely until this summer. When I had to, I would give some small struggle that wasn't really the whole picture. I thought that would fool people. It didn't. When I finally opened up this summer, or, rather, took off the mask, I found out that you can't actually hide yourself from the people who love you and that it's not worth it to try.

I don't have some huge climax to this story, but I will tell you that it's made my life so much better to let other people see that I'm only human. I feel free - I'm not locked behind an image that I wanted the world to see. Now I can actually care what God thinks. And people still love me.

But if the invitation's open

to every heart that has been broken,

maybe then we close the curtain

on our stained glass masquerade.

-Kira

Reasons and Excuses

If I were so inclined, I could produce a plethora of reasons (insert: "excuses") as to why I haven't written anything in the past few (ahem, five) months.

Fortunately for you, I am not so inclined.

I will, however, state one reason (do not insert "excuse" here): I haven't had anything to write about.

I'm completely serious. The author wannabe hasn't had a single thing to write about in nearly five months now. Not counting, of course, a few e-mails and texts and things of that nature. Though I will admit I am abominably slow at replying to such things. Oh, and homework. Who could forget a lovely thing like that?

But I haven't had anything to say on here, on this blog. As you likely know, I usually write things like fiction, anecdotes from my real life, and ways that God's been working on me.

Ah, ways that God's been working on me. Such a lovely thing to ponder... Wait a minute. If I haven't had anything to say on any of those topics for almost half a year, does that mean He's just stopped? I'm no longer growing? I've finally reached that point of perfection so long sought after?

I'm not going to insult your intelligence by trying to convince you of that. No one's perfect, believe it or not, and I'm pretty sure it's a safe bet to say you believe that.

So why the drought of words? If I haven't become the epitome of all that is beautiful and pure in the world, why have I had nothing to say on the subject of anything lately? Has God given up on me? Is that it? He threw up His hands in disgust and left to work on some holier project?

Um, no.

I can tell you with 100% certainty that God hasn't given up on me. If Jesus went all the way to the point of death on the cross for me while I was still as dead as a person can get in my sin, why would He stop molding me to His image now? The thing is, He wouldn't.

So that brings me back to my original question. What happened to all the thoughts that I normally transform so eagerly into sentences to push out into the wide wide world to be read by people who aren't me and my imaginary friends?

I'll tell you what happened. It wasn't that I didn't have anything to say. Nope. Just ask my sister, I've been talking probably more than ever since the July of my last post. And we've already determined that God hasn't stopped working on me. Quite the contrary actually - He's been growing me in ways that make me beyond grateful and that I didn't see coming.

So are you ready for the answer then? The reason behind the lack of typed verbiage? There are two of them actually and here they are:

1. I didn't think any of it was good enough to say.

2. I didn't think I could do justice to what I did want to say.

Can we just take one second to laugh really hard at reason number 1? Seriously, go ahead. I have.

I'll explain that moment of laughter. If I claim to be a Bible believing, born again Christian (and I do), shouldn't I be growing in my faith every single day and not taking five month breaks? Yes, I should and yes, I have been. So if, like I've said, God has been working in me this whole time, isn't that part of my testimony or witness or whatever word you want to use? Yes, of course it is. My testimony doesn't end with salvation. That's more like the beginning. Finally, if that growth is part of my testimony, how can it possibly not be good enough to say? Am I really criticizing God on how He's been using me and growing me and telling Him it's not good enough to post on the internet? Let's take another laughing break, only this one should be in disbelief and with lots of head shaking.

But that's what I've been thinking. "Wow, I love all this growth and learning new stuff, but I don't think anyone else would want to read about it. So I'll just go read some other blog written by some interesting person." Really? First off, who cares if anyone wants to read it? My popularity (or lack thereof) in this life has absolutely nothing to do with who I am. Nothing. At all. Second, if God loves me as His daughter and is taking the care to grow me in a way that is special to me, He deserves praise and glory for that. Right? I mean really, am I right? Yes! So how dare I think that I don't have anything good enough to say! If God's working in me and through me, I should never run out of things to say, regardless of who reads them.

On to reason/excuse number 2.

I didn't think I could do justice to what I did want to say. So, yes. there were a few things that I thought I'd like to write about and post, but I didn't think I could say them well enough. I mean, I'm a teenager, still working on my writing, growing my fancy-schmancy vocabulary and learning how to make things interesting and fit together. How could I possibly say what God wants me to say in the way He wants me to say it? It simply can't be done.

I am really hoping right now that you read that last paragraph in the most sarcastic voice your brain could supply. If you didn't, please go back and try again. I'll wait.

Am I ever going to be perfect? Nope. So am I ever going to be able to perfectly show what God's doing in my life? Nope again. Well, if I can't do it perfectly, then why bother?

Turns out, I'm supposed to bother because God told me to bother. If I don't praise the Lord, the stones will. And who wants to lose in praising God to a bunch of rocks? Um, not me.

No, I can't write everything perfectly, no matter how hard I try. And I probably can't do it justice. But the point is that I try. I give my absolute best for God and quit acting like I have to be any good by my own strength before He can use me. Guess what. He can use me now. He could use this imperfect post I'm typing viciously away at however He feels like it. And who am I to stop using the words He's given me because I don't think they're good enough? No one, that's who.

So there you have it. That's why I haven't been writing. Because I'm a sinner who doesn't want to praise God for what He does for me.

Well, that's going to change. In fact, it already has. Look at this, I'm writing about what God showed me recently right this very second! I love my God and I want other people to love Him too. I want to be used by Him to show other people how great and amazing He is. I'm not going to do it perfectly, but I still want to do it. What could possibly be better than to have a testimony and a witness used by God in someone else's life? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

So maybe now you could go back to where I said not to insert "excuse" and go ahead and put it in there. Because there is no reason good enough to not give glory to God.

-Kira

My Summer Mantra

In my mind, nothing compares to the blissful peace (or, at the very least, comforting familiarity) of spending uninterrupted days at home. Enough work to occupy the morning and most of the afternoon, completed at an old desk featuring a map of Tolkien's Middle Earth. A stack of more library books than will likely be read before the due date, despite my loathing to admit the fact, on the wall of bookshelves. Two dogs overwhelmed with joy whenever I deem it within my means to give them a simple pat on the head.

As Maria from The Sound of Music put it, "These are a few of my favorite things!"

Wouldn't it be nice if that was all life consisted of? Old friends, familiar running routes, black coffee in "You Are My Sunshine" mugs. The comfortable, the worn, the familiarly frayed things that surround us at home.

Of course, anyone older than two can tell you that this fantasy is not how the world works. We can't always stay home and enjoy the archives of Doctor Who while eating vanilla ice cream covered in too many of the colorful sprinkles that delight young children. Sometimes, instead, we have to get up early in order to consume a hotel breakfast with hotel coffee before everyone else in said hotel wakes up and descends upon the breakfast room.

That said, I have been traveling for the last few weeks without much of a rest at home in between, heading from place to place to place. To place.

Don't misunderstand me - I love to travel! I love seeing new places, gaining new experiences and spicing up life with variety. However, as I have before mentioned, I do tend to have introvert inclinations and I love being at home.

Just over a week through, a thought kept trickling through my mind. Aren't vacations supposed to be restful? Any time something didn't happen just the way it should or I was getting tired and edgy yet again, that's what I would start thinking. Aren't vacations supposed to be restful?

That, of course, got me absolutely nowhere. How could it? Asking a useless question to yourself and not someone else in an overly sarcastic mental voice is not ever going to change anything one bit. Or so I have discovered.

I had halfheartedly been doing devotions every day of the first vacation (and a few days into the second), mostly wishing for home in between trying to glean something from distracted reading when God did one of those things where He completely and totally changes my perspective on something. I don't remember what I was reading. I don't remember what I was thinking. I do remember that I was sitting on a hotel bed in a blessedly empty room with my Bible app open on my kindle fire. But I wasn't dutifully and mindlessly reading. I was praying.

It wasn't one of those "please bless so-and-so and thank you for enough food and clothes" types of prayers (though there's nothing wrong with those). It was one of those "Just help me make it through this vacation! I can't take it any more! My brothers are driving me insane and I'm sick and I have a hundred things I would rather be doing at home right now!" prayers. One of those where you let everything spill out (sometimes including a few tears, as long as there's no one else in the room) and admit you can't do it by yourself.

Then a different thought came to me - one to replace the ever bitter Aren't vacations supposed to be restful? I know that the new thought wasn't from me though. I was still in my "get me out of here!" mindset. The new thought was this:

God is the same everywhere.

Just five simple words. God is the same everywhere. An indescribable mixture of peace and joy rose up from inside me at this new thought.

God is the same at home and at camp and on vacation and at work and in the Eiffel Tower and on the moon and everywhere else. Even when my morning routine includes spreading goopy sunscreen all over already half burnt, half tanned skin and when lunch is from a cooler in the back of the car and when respite is sought in a few feet of shade within earshot of someone else's little sister attempting karaoke. That became my new mantra (if you can call it that) for the rest of the vacation, helping to push aside Aren't vacations supposed to be restful?

The next week, I was away from home again. And guess what? Those five words were still true. I know, go figure. God is the same everywhere.

I pray that those five words stay with you and encourage you, whether you're in a hotel in Europe or a cabin in North Carolina or on the couch in your living room with an old book.

Believe it or not, after getting home a couple days ago, we're leaving again Saturday morning for yet another trip. I think my "mantra" from that second week will turn into my "mantra" for the summer as I continue to be away from home doing all sorts of different things and visiting all sorts of different places.

And as I climb into the car from the crisp Virginia early morning air on Saturday, I will remember.

God is the same everywhere.

-Kira

Why We're Not Chicken Noodle Soup

So maybe this isn't quite within a week, but it's within a month, right? No? One day off? Hmm. Maybe I should stop making poor estimates of when my next post will be...

The closest thing we had to chicken noodle soup.
Just go with it.

Today I wanted to write about labels. Not the labels on a can of soup or something like that, but the labels given to a person either by themselves or by someone else. As a teenager, this is something that I struggle with almost daily. It's always a temptation to believe the labels and do everything within my power to become the person that the label implies. But that's not right. It's not what I'm called to do as God's daughter. I say, let's get rid of them. All of them.

So what exactly to I mean by labels? In this case, I mean the category that a person is placed into in order to define them. Such as: soccer girl, computer genius, animal lover, bookworm, etc. The purpose of a label is to stick it on a person so that we don't have to get closer to them and learn more about them. Or, if it is self imposed, it is so that we can rest in the security of being what others expect and thus make them (and, in turn, ourselves) happy.

What's so wrong with labels then? If they are really just to make people happy and life easy, why would we need to consider getting rid of them? First, just because it makes someone happy, doesn't mean that it is a good thing. It might make me happy to snap at my brothers until they finally leave me alone, but that does not at all mean that it's okay with God.

Yet, nowhere in the Bible does it say, "Thou shalt not label thy friends, thy siblings, or thyself." Which implies that there must be a root problem if it is actually, as I propose, such a bad thing. Labeling must be the result of sin.

But which sin?

If we take the time to look, there are a multitude to choose from: selfishness (wanting people to be just the way we want them), laziness (not wanting to put forth the effort to get to know a person for real), pride (thinking we have the ability and right to define either another person or ourselves), and the list goes on.

Actually, on a slightly different tangent, the soup can picture from above is a good one. A label on a can of chicken noodle soup is placed there to tell you what's inside. When you open the can to cook it, you have no doubt that what you will find inside is indeed chicken noodle soup. The label on the can was put there so that we can know the contents without having to pull out the can opener and work for it.

That's the thing about us humans though, we're not soup. If that is a surprise to anyone, you might want rethink some things - something's wrong. Anyway, humans aren't soup. If a label is put on a can of soup to tell you what's inside, then a label on a human should parallel that purpose. The label should tell you what's inside the person. But that's the thing, it doesn't. Because humans aren't soup, we tend to change and grow and be made up of lots more than broth, chicken, and noodles. We can't be plastered with a label that tells everything exactly as it is inside of us.

There is so much more to every individual person around us that labeling hides from sight. There is so much more to ourselves than one or two concisely cut ideas.

So lets forget the labels and invest in each other as the human beings we are. Let's sweep aside the inhibiting titles and ideas and instead love and get to know each other deeply just as Jesus intended. Because, after all, we're more than chicken noodle soup.

-Kira

Walk for Life 2016 Update

I know I haven't posted in a long time, so here's an update on my last post about the Walk for Life. Also, I hope to have an article (or some other type of post) up within a week. We shall see if that happens.

I forgot to bring a camera this year, so there are no pictures, but I can still tell you how the Walk went.

The Pregnancy Resource Center reached and surpassed their goal of $35,000! I believe the total number was over $36,000.

Our youth group team came in first place with a total of $5,432 with one of our members as first place walker with $1,875. I raised $350.

The event was really fantastic - though a bit cold - and now the PRC has the money to continue serving over the coming months.

Thank you for your donations and prayers! Overall, it was a really fun and worthwhile morning and I look forward to next year!

-Kira

Walk for Life 2016

Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them,

for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."

Matthew 19:14

Children are precious to God. He shows this time and time again throughout the Bible. We are told to have faith like a child, to protect the fatherless, to take care not to lead children astray.

The unspeakably horrible practice of abortion must be absolutely heart-breaking to our King who values children and human life so highly. He knew us before we were born, while we were still in our mother's wombs. He knew every little thing about us and loved us completely.

As His workers, it is our job to spread God's kingdom throughout this earth through both evangelism and good works. The Pregnancy Resource Center (PRC) of Radford, Virginia does this by striving to protect the little children of the world on a daily basis.

The PRC provides many resources and services for women with unplanned pregnancies and shows them that choosing not to abort the unborn children within them is both right and possible.

They not only provide counseling and such services as ultrasounds for free, they also work to care for their clients' physical needs in the form of supplies such as diapers and wipes. Babies can be both expensive and overwhelming and having someone there to help and guide both spiritually and physically is a real blessing to many new mothers.

Throughout the year, the PRC must continually raise funds to sustain their ministry and two major fundraisers provide most of the resources for the year. One is the Baby Bottle Campaign, where churches hand out empty baby bottles to their members to be filled with loose change and returned a few weeks later.

The second is the Walk for Life, where "walkers" ask for sponsors for a few months before meeting to walk two miles together. The Walk for Life this year is April 30 at Bisset Park in Radford. My siblings and I are participating as part of a team with our Youth Group.

The PRC's overall goal for this event is to raise $35,000. At the time of this post, they are only 9% of the way there. My personal goal is $1000 of which I have raised $50.

Please consider whether you can support the PRC this year either by sponsoring a walker, becoming a walker, or (especially) praying!

If you would like more information on the Pregnancy Resource Center and their work, you can find that here:

http://www.prcsupport.com/

If you would like to sponsor me, you can do so by clicking the following link and then the yellow button on the right that says GIVE on this page:

https://secure.ministrysync.com/ministrysync/event/website/?m=2682331#0

From there you can sponsor anyone on my team or any other walkers for the event by searching for them.

If you would like to register as a walker yourself, you can do so here:

https://secure.ministrysync.com/ministrysync/event/website/home/?e=7989

Just click REGISTER and follow the instructions.

Whatever you do, please pray for the Pregnancy Resource Center and for this event. Thank you in advance for your prayers and support!

-Kira

Almost Like It Was Planned That Way...

If one were to go all the way back to my very first post on this particular blog, one would come across a paragraph on why it is called how He loves us. For those of you who are too lazy to do so (or just have a life outside of the internet), I will copy it here:

Also, I was going to call this blog all for Him but the web address was already taken, so it is now how He loves us. (web address: howheluvsus.blogspot.com because "love" spelled correctly was taken too) I was going to call it all for Him because I've been thinking a lot lately about what God wants me to do with my life - both long-term and right now - and how I can glorify Him and do it "all for Him" no matter what it is I'm doing.

So, definitely not a bad thing to think about. We were all created for "good works, which God planned beforehand that we should walk in them." (Ephesians 2:10b) Our purpose in life should be to carry out God's plan for said life.

As I said before however, this blog did not end up with the title of all for Him.

When I started writing on here almost two years ago, that was what was occupying my mind a lot and what I was really thinking about. But as I grew, and my blog grew, it seems to have changed. As I look back and think about old posts and stories and pieces of my testimony, I see just how fitting the name how He loves us has turned out to be. Almost like it was planned that way.

My goal with this post is not to start a crazy and confusing predestination debate or anything, but rather to appreciate how God promises to look out for us and care for us constantly.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." - Jeremiah 29:11

I've got to admit, I really struggle with trusting God to take control of my life. I mean, I know He has control already, but I am not willing to accept that fact in every area of my walk with Him. I think that I know better and that I can do better because I can see my plans for my future. I can't see God's plans for my future and that scares me a little bit. Because what if they're different from mine? What if He doesn't want me to be a writer or have kids or go to college? What if He wants me to give up my dreams in order to follow His plan for me? His very much existent and good plan, as stated in the verse in Jeremiah.

The disciples left everything behind in order to follow Christ. They left their families, their jobs, their homes. They committed to following Him completely. They went all in. I want to be that devoted to Christ. I want to be willing to give up what I want, no matter how tremendously difficult and flat-out terrifying that is. I pray that God will help me to be able to say "I surrender all my human soul desires. If sacrifice requires that all my kingdoms fall, I surrender all." (I Surrender All, Clay Crosse)

Because He knows the plans He has for me. Plans to prosper me and not to harm me. Plans to give me a hope and a future. And He has the same for you.

This blog post took an extreme turn from the direction I planned on heading. I don't think I even said what I planned on saying, but I'm not going to change it. It just seems right. Almost like it was planned that way.

-Kira

Booked

Hello everybody! I managed to find a spare minute when there was no school that I could really do (though plenty left, I assure you :D) to write an update.

But it's not so much an update as another introduction.

My last post, Introducing Following Orders!, was all about posting the book I'm writing on here. By the way, I'm nearing the end - yay! It was extremely jumbled up and I forgot to mention where you can even read the book, but it is all better now because...

I am taking down the first chapter of Following Orders!

If you were planning on reading it, please don't panic yet!

In addition to this change, I have started another blog exclusively for posting books. You can read any and all books that I post on that blog - Booked. This is not to make things crazier and more insane but to clean things up so that this blog can stay straightforward and simple.

At the publication of this post, there is only one post over on Booked, but it explains basically how I'm thinking things are going to work. I won't rewrite it all here, but you can go read all of that if you're interested. As always, suggestions and ideas are more than welcome.

The web address (correct terminology?) is: chaptersandscenes.blogspot.com. Now I need to go hunt out some more work that I can do. Bye!

-Kira

Introducing Following Orders!

If it's not obvious yet, I love to write. So much so, that I sincerely hope to be an author in the near future. I won't delve into how I define "author" right now because I know some people say you only have to write a book and others say you have to be published and on and on... Just know that I plan to be one.

As part of fine tuning my writing skills, my parents are allowing me to do a writing curriculum this year in which I get to write a novel. That's right - a whole novel. I'm so happy!!!

I wrote my first full novel last November as part of National Novel Writing Month and it's a little sloppy because of the speed and I haven't had time to edit it yet. I'm hoping to do something with it though - potentially post it on here after Following Orders. But we will see how this goes first.

So anyway, because of busy-ness and high school and blah blah blah, I haven't really been posting with any sort of consistency or speed - it's been a month and a half since my last post. By publishing my novel on here, I not only solve the no-posting problem, I also can test it out and see how it goes. I'm warning you right now, so don't say I didn't: if you don't feel like being a guinea pig for a very naive writer who has not really done a whole lot of editing on this round, don't read this novel. Got it? Good.

Now for those of you who are interested in being tested upon and asked relentlessly "What do you think? No, really?" keep reading. If you do decide to take this difficult road, please do not hesitate to tell me what you think! Even if you think that it was the worst thing you have ever read in your life and you'll never read anything I write ever again. I seriously want to know and it helps with editing too. :D

I'm not going to put a synopsis here because there's a little bit of one over in front of the first chapter so you can know a little bit of what you might be getting yourself into.

In short, if you are interested in reading Following Orders, please do. This is sort of an experiment because I've never done anything like post a really long story on here before. I think the longest I did was three parts...? Anyway, after the posts on "To Write or Not to Write: Broken" a few people asked me for the rest of it. Full disclosure, I do not have the rest of it. It's not written. I will tell you that I am interested in maybe returning to the idea and refreshing the plot but it is way back in line. Like, way, way, way back.

Bunny trail over.

This will be a full novel - all of it on here and all of it written. It tends to get finished more when it's assigned for school. :D So I hope you like it!

-Kira

P.S. I'm just going to give full credit to Mommy for this idea. I never would have thought to post a novel on here if she hadn't suggested it. And I love the idea! Thanks Mommy!

Smelling the Roses

So, I know it's technically not the "Christmas Season" anymore but we can celebrate Jesus' birth all year, right? I had intended to post this last week (before Christmas) but it didn't happen. So I'm posting it today with the idea that it can apply to the rest of the year too. :)

The weather in Virginia has been going absolutely crazy these past couple months. One day, you'll need two pairs of socks and a huge fuzzy coat and the next, it's 60 degrees. Literally.

Despite the abnormality of the climate here, I've been taking a lot of walks lately. Now, we don't live out in the country or on the beach or anything like that. We live in a regular old neighborhood with regular old houses. There aren't huge open fields lining every street or forests surrounding single houses, isolating them from the rest of the world. Basically, it's not a city but it's not the country either. Sort of a happy medium.

Back to walking. I got an mp3 player for Christmas last year and I love listening to audio books or music while I walk and run. You know, just something to occupy my mind. I was listening to a particular song while I was out walking a couple days before Christmas and it really struck me. Unfortunately, I can't remember what song it was or even the exact lyrics. (One more reason I wanted to post this earlier - when I could remember everything I wanted to say :)

The song was about how we get all wrapped up in our busy crazy lives and don't stop to just take things in. I thought it was particularly appropriate for Christmas because of all the extra parties, shopping, and insanity that comes along with the season.

When the song came on, I was at the top of a hill. It was a regular street with regular houses. But between all the regularity, there was something spectacular. Behind the row of mundane houses was a cow pasture. In that moment, it was the most beautiful cow pasture in the world. The hills were dark with grass and tall weeds. The deep, stormy sky was dipping down to meet the rough ground. Clouds looked textured and swirled and even the simple fence around the field had an aspect of peace and rest to it.

As the singer described slowing down and appreciating what God has given us, I almost had to stop for a minute just to take it all in. I hadn't been appreciating everything. I was all caught up in worrying about school and how much I had to get done and even about Christmas.

But God didn't give us Christmas just so that we would have another thing to fuss over and twist into stressful "celebrations." If He had wanted us to get all worked up over yet another thing, He could have given us an extra mid-term or maybe a new flu shot. But He didn't. Instead, He gave us His Son.

This might sound cliche, but Jesus really was the best Christmas present ever. Too often we just pass over the story of His birth as another tradition to get through before we can open presents. The story has been told and retold so many times that we're numb to it. Unlike X-boxes, there's not a new version every year to focus our attention.

What if we stopped getting caught up in all of the little things that add up around December 25 each year? What if instead we just paused for a moment and let God fill us with His peace, love, rest? I'm not saying that the yearly Christmas party and gift exchange are bad things - I certainly don't plan on giving back the journal I got! Those can be good things. But maybe if we take the time to be filled with the peace of God not just once, but on a regular basis, this time of year would mean more.

Why stop there though? God didn't just give us Jesus for the 25 days that we get to open an advent calendar. Jesus is always there, ready for us to turn our attention to Him.

I've spent a lot of my Christmas break so far worrying about and doing school. That's not necessarily a bad thing in and of itself but I was trying to do it of my own strength and power. Guess what - it doesn't work. No matter how many hours I spent organizing and chipping away at my long list, the crossed off tasks didn't give me any joy. If anything, I couldn't wait for Christmas break to be over so that I could get even more work done.

But then God used a devotional book over and over for weeks to show me that He is there for me. I can rest in Him. He knows exactly how much I have to get done today and how He wants me to do it. Maybe the list won't get finished. Maybe it will. But it doesn't really matter. I've learned something better than why Charles Dickens wrote A Tale of Two Cities. I've learned to just take a break. Look at the beauty surrounding me and thank God for it. Let Him fill me with peace and joy and rest.  Accept those gifts and don't push them away. Stop and smell the roses.

-Kira

Banana Pudding

Marie and I made banana pudding today! I used to help Granny make it when we went to visit and I loved both making it and eating it. The simple combination of vanilla pudding, whipped topping, 'nilla wafers, and bananas has always made me excited and given rise to fond memories of mixing pudding in Granny's kitchen.

So I was really excited today when I got the chance to make this special dessert with my little sister! She loved the "cookies" ('nilla wafers) and tried to lick the spoon before we were done mixing. I loved to see her having fun with it, even though she ditched me before it was done. I guess the attention span of a three-year-old isn't quite banana pudding length. :-)

Caught Red-tongued :-P

-Kira